The aim of this course is to assist first year law students who have English as a second language to address and overcome any issues or problems they are experiencing with their legal studies as a result of their lack of English language background. The course takes material from subject areas to which students are exposed in their first year of law studies (Foundations of Australian Law, Torts, Lawyers Justice and Ethics and Contracts) and creates activities designed both to help students to develop a cultural context for their legal studies and to acquire the practical legal skills they will need for their future study and practice. The following is an example of the kinds of issues that are addressed and skills that are practised:

how to read cases;

how to write case notes;

techniques to simplify legal writing;

how to speed up reading of cases and other material;

preparing for tutorial problems;

participating effectively in discussion groups.

Learning Outcomes

At
the conclusion of this course students should have an improved ability
to:

develop the advanced ability to read common law cases in black letter
law subject areas;

review, analyse, consolidate and synthesise knowledge to identify and
provide solutions to complex legal problems in a structured and coherent
manner;

write legal advice for a variety of audiences;

talk confidently about legal issues and concepts in front of other
students;

conduct independent legal research with some intellectual independence
to produce research output such as legal essays.

The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.

Workload

Week by week content is negotiated between the convenor and the students and is designed to address the immediate concerns of students in relation to their other first year law courses. Typical preparation for students would involve preparing a brief case note or an answer to a tutorial problem. Expected prepartion time 2 hours per week.

Requisite and Incompatibility

To enrol in this course you must be studying the Bachelor of Laws (LLB, LLB(H)) or Juris Doctor (7330XJD, 7330HJD or MJD).

Fees

Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.

If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.

If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees. Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.